The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Monday, September 21, 2009 - 3A The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Monday, September 21, 2009 - 3A NEWS BRIEFS LANSING, Mich. Michigan police ask residents to monitor marijuana Law enforcement officials want outdoor enthusiasts in Michigan to be alert for possible marijuana growing and harvest- ing operations this fall. The Michigan Domestic Can- nabis Eradication and Suppres- sion Program says fall hunting seasons bring more people into the woods, making it more like- ly someone will spot marijuana being grown or harvested. Officials say to watch for unusual amounts of traffic; use of camping equipment or rec- reational vehicles on wooded* property with no evidence of rec- reational activities; and patrolled or guarded woods or swamps. Other signs include large amounts of PVC piping, irriga- tion hoses or plastic planters in heavily wooded areas. SPOKANE, Wash. Killer escapes from organized field trip A helicopter clattered over transient camps and rail yards in the expanding search for an insane killer as investigators tried to determine whether he planned his getaway from a field trip orga- nized by a mental hospital. Phillip Arnold Paul left little clothing in his room at East- ern State Hospital and carried a backpack and $50 from a Social Security check when he vanished Thursday at the Spokane County International Fair, sheriff's Sgt. Dave Reagan said. The field trip to the fair, which included 30 other patients, is an annual event that Paul easily could have anticipated, Reagan told The Spokesman-Review newspaper. Because of the extra cloth- ing Paul had, it's reasonable to assume he has changed his appearance, Reagan said. Paul, 47, was committed after he was diagnosed as schizo- phrenic and acquitted by rea- son of insanity in the slaying of an elderly woman in Sunnyside, Wash., in 1987. He soaked her body in gasoline to throw off search dogs. KHARTOUM, Sudan r Sudan claims victories in Darfur The Sudanese army said yes- terday it has cleared several more areas of rebel control in North Darfur province ahead of peace talks set for October. Rebels de- nied the government claims. The state news agency quoted the military saying it had target- ed in particular the Sudan Liber- ation Army of exiled rebel leader Abdelwahid Elnur, the largest rebel movement. There was no word about ca- sualties, only that the army had "purged the areas of the rem- nants" of the rebels. The government claims could not be independently verified. They follow rebel reports of in- tense fighting in the area starting Thursday. SLA members said at least three of their fighters were r killed and many civilians were displaced. HAVANA, Cuba Cuba peace concert attracts thousands Hundreds' of thousands of Cubans flocked to sprawling Revolution Plaza yesterday for an open-air "peace concert" headlined by Colombian rocker Juanes, an event criticized by some Cuban-Americans who say the performers are lending sup- port to the island's communist government simply by showing up. Organizers say they expect as many as half a million people to attend the four-hour concert under a broiling Havana sun, making the Colombian heart- throb's visit the biggest by an outsider since Pope John Paul Il's 1998 tour. Hundreds of public buses fer- ried young and old to the concert site, and the government laid on even more transportation, hop- ing for a large turnout. Most concertgoers wore white - to symbolize peace - and some held up signs reading "Peace on Earth" and "We Love You Juanes." - Compiled from Daily wire reports Obama says Russia not reason for defense cuts President questioned after eliminating missile defense WASHINGTON (AP) - Presi- dent Barack Obama sharply dis- misses criticism that Russian opposition influenced his deci- sion to scrap a European missile defense system, calling it merely a bonus if the leaders of Russia end up "a little less paranoid" about the U.S. "My task here was not to nego- tiate with the Russians," Obama told CBS' "Face the Nation" in an interview for broadcast yesterday. "The Russians don't make deter- minations about what our defense posture is." The president's comments were his first on the matter since he abruptly announced on Thurs- day that he was scuttling plans to deploy 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a related radar in the Czech Republic. That shield had been proposed under President George W. Bush. Russia condemned it is a threat to its security despite years of U.S. assurances to the contrary. In its place will be a different missile-defense plan relying on a network of sensors and inter- ceptor missiles based at sea, on land and in the air. Obama says that adapts to the most pressing threat from Iran to U.S. troops and allies in Europe, potential attacks by short- and medium- range missiles. Yet athome and abroad,Obama's decision immediately raised a political question of whether it was done in part to appease Rus- sia and win its help in other areas, mainly in confronting the poten- tial of a nuclear-armed Iran. That point was underscored when Rus- sia lauded the change. To Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who is on the Senate Armed Services Committee, "This is going to be seen as a capitulation to the Rus- sians, who had no real basis to object to what we were doing. And- at the end of the day you emipow- ered the Russians, you made Iran happy and you made the people in Eastern Europe wonder who we are as Americans." In the CBS interview taped Fri- day, Obama was pressed on why he did not seek anything in exchange from Russia. "Russia had always been para- noid about this, but George Bush was right. This wasn't a threat to them," Obama said. "And this program will not be a threat to them." New York Gov. David Paterson (middle) marches alongside New York City May- oral candidate Bill Thompson (left) yesterday during the African American Day Parade in New York. Goverilor refuses to drop out of election ran a rI- rn rA 4774 1 r $-A n-r'r'-iLcrV Paterson will run in 2010 despite White House opposition ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Gov. David Paterson isn't scrapping his plans to run for the office he inherited 18 months ago, despite growing pressure from Washing- ton and intervention by the Rev. Al Sharpton, who has contact- ed the governor and the White House over his concern. "My plans for 2010 are to run for governor of the state of New York," Paterson said yesterday after serving as grand marshal to the African-American Day Parade in Manhattan. "I am run- ning for office." Paterson's remarks come amid mounting pressure from Wash- ington and within New York to drop out because of his low poll numbers and concerns from other Democrats that he might hurt their chances in 2010. "I think the White House is very concerned about 2010," said Lee Miringoff of the Marist Col- lege poll, which last week found Paterson mired in some of the lowest approval ratings of any New York governor. "They are worried that Pat- erson's pick for the U.S. Sen- ate, (Kirsten) Gillibrand, might be vulnerable," Miringoff said. "Theyare also worried they might lose that seat and they want the head of the ticket to be stronger than Paterson's numbers are." Asked if he was concerned about losing some Democratic support because of his low poll numbers, Paterson said: "No, I feel like in this very difficult economic time, just about all the governors are facing the same types of problems." But the signals from Wash- ington Democrats may be what Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, riding high in the polls, needs to increase fundraising for a possible run for governor. Cuomo has refused to challenge Paterson so far and has declined to say if he will seek the job held by New York's first black and legally blind governor. "The White House is giving Cuomo all the political cover he needs to get in this," Miringoff said. In addition to governor, every statewide office and the major- ity of state Senate seats will be decided in the 2010 elections. A Cuomo spokesman wouldn't respond to requests for comment yesterday. s 4o' TO OUR 31E SCHOLARS ON THE 277 A YVERSAR./ OF OUR CLASS of 1931 ENGINEERING SCHOLARSHIPS M The class of '31E and its Scholarship Selection Committee congratulates -- and welcomes their SEVEN new scholarship winners for the 2009-2010 academic year: ALEC COHEN REBECCA FRANK MARISSA MANTEY PATRICIA McCORMICK DARIN McLESKEY KUNAL MEHTA BENJAMIN RIZZO They will be joining the '31E HONOR SOCIETY and our FIFTEEN current scholars: ROSS BARNOWSKI ASHLEY POLLOCK JONATHAN CARENDER NEAL RAKESH CHIAO-YANG HSIAQ MICHAEL REINKER SHAYAAN KHANNA BRIAN RUMAO MICHAEL KRUG IAN STUART-HOFF SHANE LARKIN ANTHONY TRICOZZI DANIEL PATRICK VERONICA WARD KAITLYN PEALE All of these scholars will be honored this month at the 78'Annual Reunion Dinner of the Class of '31E, which will be held at the Four Points Sheraton Inn, Ann Arbor, MI on Friday evening, September 25, 2009 at 5:30 PM. Since the establishment of the '31E Scholarship Program in 1982, more than 140 aspiring engineering students have been helped to experience a University of Michigan education and have gone on to rewarding careers. George E. Anderson Director of Media Relations H PV Fact: n0-rU- that each ANN ARBOR'S NEWEST THING SELF SERVE FROZEN YOGURT 002.